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Three Historic Home Tours

Most Lovely Things

I’m teaming up with two of my favorite bloggers to share a bit of history behind each of our old homes. Sarah of She Holds Dearly is restoring an old farm house built in 1906 on four acres near Seattle, Washington. Kelly of My Soulful Home lives in a home built in 1886 in Pasadena, California, and is the author of My Soulful Home: A Year in Flowers.

I’m thrilled that I was asked to join Sarah and Kelly because I’m not sure if I would have ever gotten around to finding out the history of our home built in 1900 in New Canaan, CT. My first stop for researching the history was a call to the New Canaan Historical Society. I guess a home built in 1900 is not considered all that old in these parts, but they did have a file on our house on Hoyt Street. It was ready and waiting for me when I walked over to take a look. The folder contained the original field card and a few photos.

The house was originally a three bedroom, one bath house. The home is located very close to the town center. The New Canaan Train Station opened in 1868 on the New Haven Line. Our home is 0.6 miles to the station on the opposite side of town. The original owner, John E. Hersam, built the house in 1900 while working for the Stamford Advocate. In 1908 he started the New Canaan Advertiser.

I had the privilege of speaking with his grandson, V. Donald Hersam.

Early recollections: I sent Donald a few current photos of the house and right away he noticed that what is now the living room, was once divided onto a parlor in the front and then doors that led to the living room and dining room. He said he recalled his father telling the story that his mother died at the age of 42 and her wake was in that parlor. “That’s how it was done in those days.”One early memory of the house was when Donald was a young boy – a horse drawn wagon delivering the milk to the front porch. “The milkman came up in horse drawn wagon. It was an icy day, the horse had clamp-on cleats and would stop in front of each house.”

I asked Donald if he thought the front door and lanterns were original to the house. “I remember it being a glass door with a skeleton key.”

Hoyt Street had only a few houses back then and across the street John had built a clay tennis court. Donald remembers that he had a sprinkler that he attached to the hydrant to water down the clay.

When his grandfather remarried about 10 years later, he recalled that they did quite a bit of work to the house, adding a sleeping porch on the North side. They also enclosed the front porch.

In 1957, a year after Donald was married, he and his wife Jeanne built a house across the street where the clay tennis court once stood. Years later he would still find remnants of that clay court on the property.

Our family has lived in the house for six years, renovating and cleaning up the property. The house now has a garage that was added many years later. The yard needed a lot of clearing from years of previous owners planting trees and shrubs that then took over the yard. Once cleared, the yard is quite large and private for an in-town street.

When we renovated the kitchen, we uncovered the original brick that we assume was once the cooking stove. Our modern Wolf range fits in its place perfectly with the vent using the original chimney. We tried to make the kitchen modern, but timeless. We used white subway tile, lighting from SchoolHouse, and a rustic marble topped island. Where the pantry and table are located was once a small porch.

Front Porch

The front porch is once again open as it was when originally built. We love the porch and feel that it gives the house so much curb appeal. I love to think about how many people have walked up these steps over the years. It’s special to know that the home has such a distinguished past with the original owner who not only owned the town newspaper, but was active in the New Canaan Fire Department as well as his son, grandson, Donald, and many of their relatives who continue to carry on the tradition even today.

I hope we’ve respected the history of the home and when it’s time…we’ll pass the torch to the next family…

A stone fireplace added many years later. We painted it white and added a modern mantel.

Map

of

New Canaan

The map of New Canaan shows the location of the house in the shaded area which is the center of town. To the left of the shaded box you can see the train tracks.

Comments

A Lovely house that has the presence of home. Often “decorated” homes feel a bit cold after being staged for photography. Yours has gone above that. It very much reminds me of a house my maternal Grandparents lived in for many years in Scenery Hill, Pennsylvania. I have many wonderful memories stored away from time spent there. Thank you for sharing.

This might be my favorite post, Annie! How wonderful to be able to speak with the grandson of the original owner and learn so much about the house’s history and family. Love the blueprints and sketch of the house! Have you found a clay remnant yet? A wake in the parlor?! You have done an amazing job of respecting the house’s history while making it more modern and convenient. Keeping the original chimney in the kitchen and the reclaimed wood island are perfect examples of this. So fun to read and see all of the pictures of your beautiful old home! ❤️

Thank you Stefanie for your sweet comment. The house where the clay tennis court once stood belongs to my friend and I need to ask her if she’s found any remnants in the yard. He children are young, so they might be curious enough to dig around in search of some clay. Hope you and your family are having a wonderful summer so far! Thanks for reading my dear friend! xo annie

Kathie, It was so fun to talk with the grandson of the original owner and hear about their family and the history of the home. Makes me appreciate the home and history even more! Thanks for reading and taking time to leave a comment. Have a lovely Sunday. annie

Just beautiful!Theres nothing better than a historic home. We live in a 1910 four square in Memphis, TN. Yours reminds me so much of ours. I found you through Nesting with Grace, and continuously go to both of you for inspiration. Do you mind giving me your front door paint color? Its the perfect shade of a blue/grey. Thank-you!

Maggie, I just looked up “Four Square Homes in Memphis” and I love the historic homes. Does four square always mean craftsmen? Our door color is called Storm. It’s a Benjamin Moore color, but we had Home Depot mix it using Behr paint. I’m so happy you popped over from Nesting with Grace! I adore Brooke and we only live a few towns apart in Connecticut. I get to see her from time to time! Have a beautiful weekend! annie

This is so interesting, Annie. You have done such a lovely job of respecting the character and making it fresh and YOU. Our building was built in 1922 and has an interesting history, too…like it was in a Humphrey Bogart film noir. Come visit.

I thought it was so interesting that both our houses used to have the living rooms divided to create a parlor. I have heard that lots of rooms made the families feel wealthier, no matter the size.

That sketch made my gasp, I hope you have your own copy so you can frame it! And the story about the milk delivery and skeleton key, doesn’t it make you so happy? Your kitchen is stunning, you have done such an amazing job!

Thank you for you letting us inside your home and for passing its story onto us. It was completely dreamy! xoxo

LOVE the scones at your front door! Did you find out if they were original to the house or an update? I would love to find a pair – we are refreshing the front of our 1908 Foursquare and they would look perfect!